Box end and method of making the same



Sept. 10,1 1929. A. E. CRANSTON I BOX END AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Nov. 8, 1924 2 Sheets$heet 1 INVENTOR wflramswiz ORNEY Sept. 10, 1929. A. E. CRANSTON 1#727,310

BOX END AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Nov. 8, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fig; j

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UNITED STATES PATENT QFFMIE.

ALBERT E. CRANSTON, OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR ONE-HALF T0 ALEC J. GERRARD, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

BOX END AND METHOD MAKING THE SAME.

Application filed November 8, 1924. Serial No. 748,641.

The object of this invention is to provide a novel method of forming a box end, and the invention also resides in the box end so formed.

My improved box end comprises, in one phase of the invention, one or more center boards having their ends mortised with dovetailed grooves, and end nailing strips having tenons of dovetailed cross section adapted to fit and be connected withthe grooves in the ends of the boards. This embodiment is complete and useful with some types of boxes.

In a further and additional phase of the invention, I also employ edge nailing strips having dovetailed connection with the outer side edges of the center board or boards, and also in dovetailed connection with the ends of the end nailing strips.

In it also a feature of my invention to so form the tenons and grooves that the abutting faces will not be entirely smooth whereby the connected parts will be held together with greater rigidity after they have been connected, and whereby glue or other mediums may be entirely dispensed with.

It is a feature of my improved method, in one phase thereof, to dispose and actuate the strip and board members whereby assembly of the same may be made with the greatest speed.

A feature of my method consists in holding either the strip members and advancing the board members into connected dovetailed relation with the strip members, or to hold the board members and advance the strip members into connected relation with the board members. In either event, and be cause of the random widths of center boards employed, it is a feature of my method to impart simultaneously such relative move ment to a plurality of the strip and board members as to connect an excess aggregate width of board members, to avoid selection of the latter, and then saw off or otherwise remove the excess projection of board width from one side of the box end to reduce the latter to the required dimension. In some instances, it is a feature, in such reduction, to also reduce the end strip members very slightly, in the same operation with the reduction of the board members.

It is a further phase of my invention, after the initial or end strip members have been connected with the center board members, and after the thus far formed box end is assembled, to then groove the side or remaining edges and insert side nailing strips, whereby as a result of the method, the side and end strips will be locked together and hence the center board members cannot separate from each other or change their positions with respect to the end strip members.

Other features and objects of my invention will be more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawing and will be more particularly pointed out in and by the appended claim.

In the drawing z- Fig. 1, is a plan View illustrating how the center boards are being advanced into connection with the end strip members.

F ig.'2, is a similar view showing the final position of the center boards and indicating the excess aggregate width, the dotted line 12 showing the reduction made to reduce the box end to the required size.

Fig. 3, is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing how the box end may be assembled by holding the center boards and advancing the end strips.

Fig. 4, shows the end strips and center boards advanced to a final position and the dotted line 27 shows where the reduction to the required size is made.

Fig. 5, is a plan view of a method wherein the center boards of the box end are previously produced so that they will be of the required width and wherein it is not necessary to make any reduction.

Fig. 6, shows the center boards after they have been advanced into a final position.

Fig. 7, is a view of the box end in a final form for some types of boxes. Fig. 8, is a plan view showing a method of sawing or otherwise forming dovetailed grooves in the sides of the box end shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9, shows a further step of connecting the side strips with the partly finished box end.

Fig. 10, shows the box end with a complete border of nailing strips on all edges, which is desirable for some types of boxes.

Fig. 11, is an enlarged view in elevation looking in the direction of arrow ll of Fig. 7.

Fig. 12, is an edge view of one of the cen ter boards showing the dovetailed grooves in the ends thereof.

Fig. 18, is a sectional view on line 13 13 of Fig. 9, showing the dovetailed grooves formed in the side edge of the outermost center boards.

Fig. 14, is an enlarged view looking in the direction of arrow 14, of Fig. 10.

Like characters of reference designate similar parts throughout the different figures ofthe drawing.

The intangible steps of the method will be illustrated with a minimum of mechanism merely SlllllClQIllZ to make the operation clear. I have shown in Figs. 1 and. 2 a table 1' on which are secured combined guide and stop members, the guide portions being shown at 2, and the stop portions at 3. I locate, in operative relation to said members, two nailingend strips 4. These guide members will, in practice, be adjustable to the required. parallel relation with respect to the length of the center boards employed. The end strip cross section is clearly shown in Fig. 11, the same having a tenon 5, of dovetailed form. Now the end strips 4 are disposed in Fig. 1, to project the tenons 5, inwardly.

I have shown a plurality of center boards which I will separately designate as 6, 7, 8 and 9. These boards are all of uniform length, and each end of each board has a dovetailed groove, as shown at 10, in Fig. 12, which grooves are proportioned to snugly fit the tenons 5. These center boards consist of stock which is of an inferior grade, because such stock is cheap, and because the center of my improved box end ismerely required to be continuous and solid, but need not be of good nail holding stock. Further, these center boards may, and in practice, probably will be made of different kinds of wood, which will contain many'knots either between their edges or at their edges. Because of the fact that I use this character of material, it is necessary that. I take it as it comes, in order to make the invention highly eflicient, therefore, some of the boards will be wider than others, as clearly shown. I avoid slowing up the process by selecting a number of boards of random width, the aggregate of which, will just complete the box end cent r. Thus, in accordance with my improved method, I employ enough center boards, the aggregate of which will have a width in excess of the width of the center to be formed.

A suitable follower 11, advances the center boards between the end strips 4, and with the grooves 10 in registry with tenons 5, so that as the boards are advanced toward stops 3, they will be in dovetailed connection with the strips 4. These boards will be advanced the full length of strips 4, until engaged by stops 3, as shown in Fig. 2. Now it will be seen that there is an excess of center board width over and above the length of strips 4. This, in accordance with my improved method, is sawed off or otherwise suitably removed. In the preferred phase of my invention, and partly toavoid any nicety of saw adjustment, 1 saw off not only the center boards, but also a very slight length of the strips 4, as clearly shown by dotted line 19'. I therefore am assured of a fixed total width and flush edge, as regards that edge remote from the edge adjacentstops 3, in Fig. 2.

t may also be stated that in order to make a box end of the required width, I employ end strips 4, of a sufiicient excess length so that slight end portions thereof may be sawed off, as shown.

I now have a complete product, as shown in Fig. 7 for some types of boxes, and I have also thus far described a complete method phase of my invention. In this type of product, knots should not be located at either outside edge of boards 6 or 8, as they would of course not take nails. Therefore, if the endmost boards should have knots in such objectionable location, the feeder or operative, would turn them over, just before they have been advanced to the position shown in Fig. 1, to either dispose the knots inside of the outer edges, or if necessary, to discard such board entirely if it should have knotson both edges. However, inside of the extreme edges, the center boards may have knots in any location, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

In practice, I preferably saw the dovetailed grooves 10, and as regards the tenons 5, while they may not be wholly formed by sawing, still, it is a feature of this invention to so form the grooves and tenons that they will at least not be of a smoothness characteristic of planed surfaces. Hence, a degree of roughness of the abutting tenon and groove faces is present to such an extent as very materially to assist in rigidly holding the connected members in the relation which they have been forced, as shown in Fig. 7. Further, as the center boards contract or expand, unequally, the dovetailed connection will most effectively come into play. Thus, in view of this feature, I can entirely dispense with glue, which would inevitably entail an additional operative step.

It will now be clear that the method, thus far described, consists'in positioning the end strip members 4 and the center board members 6 to 9, in dovetailed registry, and imparting relative movement to said members to join the same into a rigid box end.

' In some classes of box ends, and especially where it is desired to use lumber of an extremely inferior grade and avoid any kind of selection, it is an object of my invention to provide, in addition to the end strips 4, side strips 13.

Thus, a further step in my improved method consists in taking the product shown in Fig. 7, and forming in the outer edges of boards 6 and 8, grooves 14, like grooves 10. It will be seen that this step of forming grooves 14, is unlike the step of forming grooves 10 in separate boards, by reason of the fact that the structure in Fig. 7 is a previously united and rigid structure. It will be seen that the grooves 14, not only extend throughout the length of boards 6 and 8, but also through the thickness of end strips 4. In this case, it is not so material how the grooves 14 are formed, that is, whether they are formed in a plurality of box ends advanced toward the forming mechanism or not. The important point to this case is that they are formed along two sides of an otherwisefinished box end. Into these grooves 14, are inserted the side strips 13, as shown in Fig. 10. Now it will be clear that the side strips 13, which are of the same cross section as the end strips 4, will be in dovetailed connection not only with the outer edges of boards 6 and 8, but they will also be interlocked with the extreme ends of the end strips 4. Thus, there cannot be any movement of the end strips 4, laterally of the center boards. In fact, with this construction, all the integers of the box end are rigidly locked against displacement.

It will also be seen that the end and side strips, are nailing strips, so that irrespective of the character of the center boards, there will be throughout the margin of the box end in Fig. 10, a nailing edge. I consider it a feature of special importance that the end and side strips 4 and 13 are in locked relation.

In order to make this phase of the in vention clear, I have shown a table 15, Fig. 8, having guides 16 and 17 between which the product shown in Fig. 7, may be plurally advanced in end to end relation so that the rotary saws 18, will cut the dovetailed grooves 14, as previously described.

After these grooves 14 have been formed, the sawed box end is fed onto a table 19, Fig. 9, having stop and guide members 20 and 21, like those shown in Fig. 1. Side strip members 13, having tenons 22, are disposed in the position shown, and the box end A, is advanced by a follower 23, until the end edge a engages stops 20.

It is not essential that the center boards be advanced into dovetailed connection with the end strips 4, as I have shown in Figs.

3 and 4, a method whereby the center boards are held by a fixed abutment, the strips 4, being advanced by followers 26, into a final position shown in Fig. 4. The dotted line 27 indicates severance of the excess width without removing any of the ends of strips 4.

In Figs. 5 and 6, I have shown the same method as that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, except that I have shown how my invention is adapted for another class of box end making wherein the center boards have been prepared so that they are of the proper width. Thus center boards 28, are, collectively equal in width to the length of strips 4. Hence, when they are advanced into the position shown in Fig. 6, the end edges of strips 4, will be flush with the side edges of center boards 28, and it will not be neces sary to make any sawing reduction as in the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, where random width center boards are used.

It will be noted that one feature common to all the phases or steps of my improved method is that the board and strip members are all dovetail connected, and that in each step, the dovetail equipped members are first disposed in such relative positions as to be in registry for endwise movement in order to obtain dovetailed connection. In practice, and as will later be protected in an apparatus case, this endwise movement of the dovetail equipped parts facilitates a very remarkably speedy assembly of the integers into a rigid box end.

I claim A box end composed of, a plurality of parallelly disposed center boards each having a dovetail groove in each end surface thereof, nailing strips having dovetail tenons disposed in said grooves and uniting said boards and forming end nailing strips along the ends of said boards, the side edges of the outermost of said center boards and the ends of said end nailing strips having dovetail grooves; and edge nailing strips having dovetail tenons disposed in said edge grooves and extending abreast of and in dovetailed connection with said end nailing strips.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I hereby aflix my signature.

ALBERT E. CRANSTON. 

